Methodology for Live Text Broadcasting

ABSTRACT

A Transcription Engine is able to broadcast over the Internet streaming text associated with the broadcast to registered and authenticated end users who may be hearing impaired or may have difficulty understanding the language used in the broadcast. The end users&#39; understanding of the information being broadcast is improved because of the availability of the associated text. The Transcription Engine comprises an authentication server, a database server and a Transcription server. End users are first registered automatically at a website associated with the Transcription Engine. End users can then login and are authenticated automatically by the Transcription Engine prior to being given access to a live or recorded broadcast of associated broadcast. The end users obtain access to the associated text broadcast via the Internet after having been authenticated by the Transcription Engine.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field oftelecommunications. In particular, the present invention relates to asystem and method for assisting and improving communications for personswho are hearing impaired and/or persons facing language barriers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In today's technological environment, information is readily availablefrom many different types of communication devices now commonly used byvirtually everyone in our society. Smart phones, tablets, portablelaptops and other such devices are ubiquitous and have become part ofour everyday landscape. Surprisingly the manner in which much of theinformation conveyed over communication networks such as the Internetwith the use of these communication devices is lacking in that thedelivery of the information typically does not take into account thephysical capabilities or disabilities of users of such information.

For example, many users are hearing impaired or have difficultyunderstanding voice and/or visual communications due to physicalimpairments. Moreover, there may be a language issue whereby thelanguage used to convey the information may not be a user's naturallanguage thus making user understanding of the conveyed information animportant issue in terms of the effectiveness of the communication.Further, increasingly our society is becoming more reliant on ourcommunication infrastructure to convey important and crucial informationto the public at large. Consequently, those in our society who cannotreadily understand the conveyed information because of the manner ofdelivery are inherently at a disadvantage.

Even though our communication infrastructure, which includescommunication devices and universally accessible communication networks,has significantly facilitated the dissemination of information, thesedisadvantaged members of our society are increasingly becomingmarginalized with respect to their participation in our communicationsystems. In particular, members of the general public who havedifficulty understanding voice communications often face formidableobstacles in readily understanding the mass broadcast of informationreceived through readily available communication devices. There are manyscenarios of such cases. For example hearing impaired individuals orthose who have difficulty understanding broadcast information due tolack of facility with the particular language used in broadcastinginformation to the public include students at Universities attendinglectures, members of a church attending church services, and members ofprofessional organizations attending conventions and general meetings ofsuch organizations.

Often many of these broadcasts are also available online over theInternet as live or recorded broadcasts. Such broadcasts are oftenviewed as a useful technological improvement in the dissemination ofinformation to select groups of the public at large. However, inasmuchas these live or recorded broadcasts are useful to individuals whocannot attend the actual broadcast or cannot listen to the actualbroadcasts, persons with hearing impairments or persons with difficultyunderstanding the language of these broadcasts cannot avail themselvesof this technological improvement or other improvements in the massdissemination of voice communications to select groups. The design ofnew devices or adjustments to the operation of already existing devicesmay be an approach to addressing these obstacles faced by many membersof our society. However, such redesigns may be impractical and moreimportantly may not be prudent from a purely economic standpoint.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a Transcription Engine that improvescommunications between a speaker broadcasting information in the form ofvoice communications and listeners of the actual or live broadcast or arecorded version of the broadcast. The device, system and method of thepresent invention comprises at least one server capable of transcribing,in real time, received voice communications into associated text andbroadcasting the associated text to clients and end users of theTranscription Engine. The broadcast of the associated text helps toimprove the understanding of the voice communications by those end userswith hearing impairments or the end users having difficultyunderstanding the language in which the broadcast is done. TheTranscription Engine broadcasts the associated text over a particularcommunication network in accordance with the protocols of thecommunication network. The Transcription Engine of the present inventionregisters and authenticates automatically clients desiring usage of theTranscription Engine to broadcast information to select groups and toend users who are members of the select groups.

In one embodiment of the system, device and method of the presentinvention, the communication network to which the Transcription Engineis coupled is the Internet and clients and end users are able to accessa website associated with the Transcription Engine to login and/orregister. Those clients and end users who have registered and have beenauthenticated by the Transcription Engine will be able to broadcast ortransmit a recorded broadcast and/or view a live or recorded broadcastsof the associated text information in accordance with their agreementwith the owner/controlling entity of the Transcription Engine.

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various aspects of the present invention, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings in which like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the Transcription Engine of the presentinvention coupled to clients and end users via a communication network.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a screenshot showing a login window for a lecturer of aUniversity.

FIG. 4 is a screenshot showing a login window for a student of aUniversity.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot showing a login window for a School orUniversity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a Transcription Engine that improvescommunications between a speaker broadcasting information in the form ofvoice communications and listeners of the actual or live broadcast or arecorded version of the broadcast. The device, system and method of thepresent invention comprises at least one server capable of transcribing,in real time, received voice communications into associated text andbroadcasting the associated text to clients and end users of theTranscription Engine. The broadcast of the associated text helps toimprove the understanding of the voice communications by those end userswith hearing impairments or the end users having difficultyunderstanding the language in which the broadcast is done. TheTranscription Engine broadcasts the associated text over a particularcommunication network in accordance with the protocols of thecommunication network. The Transcription Engine of the present inventionregisters and authenticates automatically clients desiring usage of theTranscription Engine to broadcast information to select groups and toend users who are members of the select groups.

The description of the system, device and method of the Transcriptionengine of the present invention is disclosed herein using the followingterms, terminology, definitions and abbreviations:

The associated text refers to readable text resulting from a voicerecognition system (including speech tuning algorithms) that analyzesand processes the voice communications received from a broadcaster. Thebroadcaster may be the actual person speaking or may be a voice agentlocated at the place of the broadcast who is repeating the words beingspoken by the broadcaster to allow the Transcription engine totranscribe the words spoken by the voice agent when voice recognitionsoftware and speech tuning algorithms are able to transcribeautomatically the words spoken by the voice agent based on spokensamples and other training mechanisms used to enable the TranscriptionEngine to correctly transcribe words spoken by the voice agent. Thevoice agent and the actual broadcaster may be the same person whereinthe speaker prior to broadcasting has engaged the software in a trainingsession enabling the voice recognition software to correctly transcribewords and sentences spoken by the actual broadcaster. The voicecommunications may be processed by the Transcription Engine of thepresent invention to generate the associated text while in its nativeanalog form or processed after having been converted to digital form.

The term “automatic” or “automatically” refers to a process of stepsand/or acts performed by the Transcription or other electronic,electrical or electromechanical device or machine in response toinformation inputted into the Transcription Engine at the time of inputor at a later time.

The communication network is any digital or analog network or anycombination of such networks whereby transmission and reception ofassociated text can be achieved.

An owner/controlling entity of the Transcription Engine is able tocompletely operate or control the operation of the Transcription Enginein any appropriate manner as deemed warranted by such entity or agent. Alegal entity such as a person or a corporation or any defined entity canown the Transcription Engine.

The registration of a client or end user refers to a procedure designedby administrative personnel of the client (or of the owner/controllingentity) through the use of administrative equipment that may or may notbe part of the Transcription engine to obtain profile information andother relevant information from a client or end user.

Administrative personnel can be individuals or groups of individualsassigned by the owner/controlling entity to design structures and aframework into which users of the Transcription engine inputinformation. Administrative personnel also decide who gets access to theTranscription engine and how access to the Transcription engine iseffectuated. Further, the Administrative personnel may create variousrules (consistent with any and all agreements between clients and theowner/controlling entity) dictating capabilities and level of access tobe afforded to end users or clients having access to the Transcriptionengine. Administrative personnel can also be agents of the client, butwould still abide by rules and regulations outlined and generated by theowner/controlling entity of the Transcription Engine.

The profile information is identification information and relevantpersonal information of the client or end user. The inputting ofinformation is mostly implemented with GUI interfaces that are used toprompt the registering client or end user to input particularinformation.

The authentication of a client or end user is the act precedent togiving a client or end user access to the Transcription Engine based onat least some of the profile information included in the registrationprocess of the client or end user. Unique information of the client orend user will allow the Transcription Engine to provide access to saidclient or end user and provide agreed upon services to the client or enduser.

Structures and a framework are data structures and data gatheringtechniques generated by administrative personnel and arranged withrespect to each other so as to be consistent with a general approach(i.e., a framework) for obtaining, processing and managing informationinputted into the Transcription engine by a client or end user.

A Server is a computer or computer system comprising of one or moreprocessors, various blocks of memory, and supporting circuitry toprocess information and to interface with users or other servers.

An Authenticating Server is a computer or computer system that usesinformation inputted by an end user or client and information about anend user stored in a data base to determine whether to give such enduser access to the Transcription Engine.

A Database Server is a computer or computer system in which informationabout end users and client whether inputted by the client or end user orobtained through other means, recorded broadcasts and other dataassociated with the Transcription Engine, are stored.

A Transcription Server comprises a computer or computer system andcommunications equipment and software capable of receiving voicecommunications and converting said received voice communications intoassociated text. The server is further able to broadcast the associatedtext over a communication network in accordance with the protocol(s) ofthe communication network. Further, the server is able to receive textmessages and broadcast text messages.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one embodiment of the TranscriptionEngine device and system 100 of the present invention. The particularembodiment of the Transcription Engine 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprisesauthenticating server 120 coupled to database server 122 andTranscription server 126 via communication links 128 and 130respectively. Transcription server 126 is coupled to communicationnetwork 102 via communication link 132. Authenticating server 120 iscoupled to communication network 102 via communication link 150. Theterm “couple(d) to” as used herein refers to a path or a series ofconnected paths (permanent or temporary) that allows information in oneor more formats to flow from one point or equipment in a communicationnetwork to another point or equipment in the same or different networkin accordance with the protocol(s) of the communication network.

Continuing with FIG. 1, the communication links (150, 128, 130 and 132)that couple the various components of the Transcription Engine to eachother and to communication network 102 as shown in FIG. 1 can bephysical communication links such are wire line links (e.g., copperlines, optical fibers, waveguides, coaxial lines, hybrid fiber coaxiallines), or wireless communication channels, which can be analog and/ordigital channels implemented using circuit switching and/or packetswitching techniques to convey information from one point to anotherpoint within a communication network or between different communicationnetworks. Further, these links (150, 128, 130 and 132) may actually bepart of communication network 102 or another network or part of two ormore different networks; they are shown as separate distinct links forease of display and description. The communication network(s) may useone or more of several various schemes for servicing multiple userssimultaneously. For example, digital communication networks, such aspacket switched communication networks use multiple access schemes suchas Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division MultipleAccess (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Internet and OFDMA(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). Also, all or part ofcommunication network 102 may use circuit switching to conveyinformation from one point/equipment to another point/equipment withinone or more communication networks.

Transcription Engine 100 may comprise one server; that is, servers 120,122 and 126 may actually represent parts of one server. However,regardless of the constitution of Transcription Engine 100, it containsproper communication equipment (such as receivers, transmitters, digitalsignal processors and other processing equipment) to interface withcommunication network 102 in accordance with one or more protocols ofthe network. Transcription Engine 100 can be owned and/or controlled bya single entity (i.e., an owner/controlling entity) that providesservices to various types of clients who wish to use TranscriptionEngine 100 to, in turn, provide services to end users. The services tobe provided to end users by a client are described in detail and aremade available publicly to any entity or individual having access tocommunication network 102. Each client is provided with equipment havingspecialized access to the Transcription Engine. The equipment havingspecialized access to Transcription Engine 100 may be owned by the sameentity that owns Transcription 100. Alternatively, a client of theowner/controlling entity may own such equipment. In either case, theclient has control of specialized equipment, which it uses to obtain endusers. Presumably each end user is aware of and understands the types ofservices being offered by the client and enters into an agreement(commercial or otherwise) with the client for a defined period of time.In the case of a commercial agreement, in exchange for the servicesbeing provided by a client, the end user would agree to pay a fee to theclient. The specialized equipment is typically operated byadministrative personnel of the client and will hereinafter be referredto as Administrative equipment.

The Administrative equipment may be part of the Transcription Engine 100or may be part of equipment owned and controlled by a client who hasbeen given special access to the Transcription Engine. The term “specialaccess” refers to the ability of a client to administer and operate itsorganization (e.g., commercial, non-profit organization) within aframework and structure designed by the client or its administrativepersonnel in cooperation with the owner/controlling entity of theTranscription Engine. The framework and structure are to be compliantwith rules and regulations set by the owner/controlling entity of theTranscription Engine. The particular client and its type of serviceswill determine the framework and structure designed and built incompliance with the rules of the owner/controlling entity.

For example, the client may be a University that provides voiceTranscription Engine services to its end users (e.g., students and/orfaculty members) via communication network 102; in this case, the endusers are the students of the University who may have language barriersor may have some difficulty hearing a lecturer (e.g., a professor) andhave registered for a broadcast of a lecture of a course that they aretaking. The broadcast may be is the associated text of the voicecommunications transcribed by the Transcription Engine. Any student whois taking the course and who has registered for the live text servicemay attend the lecture in the classroom in which the lecture is takingplace or in a geographical location remote from the classroom. TheUniversity, through its Administrative personnel and equipment, may havea list of courses for which it is providing live text service. Anystudent taking a course included in the list is able to register forlive text broadcasting and may receive such live broadcasting whileattending class either in the lecture room or at any location remotefrom the lecture room as long as the student has an appropriatecommunication device for receiving the broadcast and access toTranscription Engine 100 via communication network 102.

Another example of a client is a particular church whose members can bepart of a congregation at the church or remote from the church forregular church services and/or special church services. In this example,the end users are church members who have registered for a live textbroadcast and thus are attending services at the church or remotely fromthe church and are able to receive the broadcast of the associated textof the services using an appropriate communication device having accessto Transcription Engine 100 via communication network 102. Individualswishing to become members of the church can do so by providing profileinformation (e.g., required personal information) to an employee of thechurch who is an administrator and thus can enter profile information ofa person wishing to become a church member into Transcription Engine 100via Administrative equipment and communication network 102. One featureof this embodiment is that the end user need not be an authenticateduser to receive the transcribed text from a live church service. TheAdministrator, for example, is given the option to allow access to thetranscribed text to authenticated or unauthenticated end users or bothtypes of end users.

Yet another example of a client is a professional organization, whichperiodically holds a convention or meetings for its members at variouslocations. During the convention, there may be multiple simultaneousbroadcasts by various departments of the professional organization forits attending members including members with language barriers and/orhearing impairment. For example, many members of an internationalscientific organization may not be fluent in the language being used inthe convention and its various meetings. Also, some members may suffer,to a certain extent, from a hearing impairment. Such members may stillattend the convention, but simultaneously view the broadcast ofassociated text of a meeting that they are currently attending with theuse of an appropriate communication device having access toTranscription Engine 100 via communication network 102. As with theother two examples discussed above, other end users not physicallylocated at the convention site of the professional organization may alsoview the various available broadcasts with appropriate communicationdevices having access to Transcription Engine 100 via communicationnetwork 102. Members obtain access by registering through administrativepersonnel of the professional organization.

All of the examples discussed above are now described in more detailwith the use of FIG. 1. Accordingly, still referring to FIG. 1,Administrative equipment 124 is coupled to Transcription Engine 100 viacommunication link 148 and communication network 102. The client may bebroadcasting information from location 104 with client equipment 106 toend user equipment 108, 110 and 112 also at physical location 104 and toend user equipment 114, 116 and 118 located at respective geographicallocations remote from location 104. Client equipment 106, end userequipment 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116 are coupled to communicationnetwork 102 via communication links 146, 144, 142, 140, 138, 136 and 134respectively. A broadcaster, who may be an employee of the client,operates equipment 106. End users operate the remaining equipment atlocation 104 and equipment 114, 116 and 118 at the various remotelocations. An Administrative personnel of the client operatesAdministrative equipment 124.

The examples will be discussed in the context where communicationnetwork 102 is the Internet, and the equipment being used by the endusers and the broadcaster are Internet enabled devices such as laptops,cellular phones (e.g., smart phones), tablets, desktop computers andother communication devices capable of gaining access to the Internetthrough the use of Internet browsers such as Explorer, Safari, Firefox,Windows Mobile, Netscape Navigator, Lynx, Symbian, and receiveinformation not only in their original formats, but also in Java, Flash,HTTP/S, TEXT and XML formats which are typically used by the Internetand Internet enabled devices and/or packet networks. The communicationlinks coupling the end user equipment (i.e., Internet enabled devices)to the Internet and ultimately to Transcription Engine 100 includeconnections to the particular ISP's (Internet Service Provider) to whichthe broadcaster and the end users subscribe.

For the example where the client is a University, the broadcasterequipment 106, i.e., a laptop, is being operated by a lecturer (e.g., aprofessor) of a class located at location 104 in the University and theclass is being attended by students some of which have internet enableddevices registered as end users of the Transcription Engine 100. Thelecturer of the class has registered his laptop 106 with TranscriptionEngine 100 of the present invention in a manner to be described supra.Equipment 106 can be a laptop with Blue Tooth capabilities. Thelecturer, as he is lecturing, is using a headset/microphone device thatis wirelessly coupled to laptop 106 allowing his voice to be transmittedto laptop 106 which in turn transmits the lecturer's voice signal viacommunication link 146, the Internet, and communication link 132 toTranscription server 126 of Transcription Engine 100; this is assumingthe Lecturer has participated in one or more training sessions thatenable Transcription Engine 100 to properly and correctly transcribewords and sentences spoken by the Lecturer. Alternatively, a voiceagent, whose voice is recognizable to Transcription Engine 100 due totraining sessions, may be placed at the location of the broadcast torepeat the words spoken by the Lecturer. The words from the voice agentare then transmitted to Transcription Engine 100 for conversion intoassociated text which are ultimately broadcast to students viewing thelive text broadcast. Transcription server 126 of Transcription Engine100 uses voice recognition software and speech tuning algorithms toconvert the received voice signals into the associated text.Transcription server broadcasts the associated text to the variousstudents attending class either at the classroom (i.e., location 104) orat other locations. The client (i.e., the University or lecturer) mayalso receive the broadcast voice and associated text through an Internetenabled device. Thus as shown in FIG. 1, laptops 108, 110 and 112 beingoperated by students inside the class are receiving the voice and textsignals from Transcription Engine 100 via their respective communicationlinks. Similarly, students remotely located from classroom 104 andoperating laptop 114, tablet 116 and smartphone 118 are also receivingthe broadcast. It will be readily understood that Transcription Engine100 is capable of simultaneously broadcasting multiple lectures for thesame client or different clients. To maintain the quality of the voicesignal in each separate broadcast, Transcription Engine 100—inestablishing communications between it and each broadcaster—assigns acommunication channel exclusive to each broadcaster to remove thepossibility of interference between voice signals of differentbroadcasters. Additionally, immediately before the commencement of abroadcast a broadcaster, the Transcription performs a series of signalof test procedures to adjust signal quality for of signals received atremote locations of the broadcast. For example, the broadcaster will begiven a time window within which the broadcaster can adjust his/hermicrophone level and adjust other components and operational parametersof the equipment he/she is using to effectuate signals (being receivedor transmitted by the Transcription engine) having relatively highquality in the broadcast.

As described above, Transcription Engine 100 broadcasts the associatedtext of the lecturer's voice or a voice agent repeating the words andphrases spoken by the lecturer. Voice signals are transmitted over theInternet as packets of information. Each packet represents a portion ofthe voice signal. Further, different packets may take totally differentpaths from each other as they traverse the Internet. All of the packetsof a voice signal once received by the Transcription Engine are thenreconstituted and converted back to a voice signal, which theTranscription Engine 100 transcribes into associated text. TheTranscription Engine 100 then broadcasts the associated text over theInternet in packet form. As is well known, the Internet is a worldwidecommunication network accessible from virtually anywhere in the world.Depending on the route taken by the initial voice packets and the routetaken by the resulting associated packets, a certain amount ofnoticeable delay may have occurred from the time the lecturer's voice istransmitted over the Internet to Transcription Engine 100 to the timethe associated text are finally received by a student in the classroom.

A student present in the class at location 104 and receiving thebroadcast with his/her laptop may notice this delay. To significantlylessen a student in the class from noticing this delay, once acommunication channel is established between the lecturer andTranscription Engine 100 and prior to the start of the broadcast,Transcription Engine 100 downloads the necessary software forbroadcasting onto the lecturer's laptop 106. In particular,Transcription Engine 100 downloads onto the lecturer's laptop voicerecognition software and the speech tuning algorithms needed to convertthe voice into text and also the software needed to broadcast via theInternet (or other communication network) the associated text tostudents registered for the broadcast. During registration of thelecturer, the administrator would have confirmed that the particulardevice (e.g., laptop, desktop, server) to be used by the lecturer isable to handle and process the software needed to perform thebroadcasting in much the same manner as the Transcription engine. Thelecturer's laptop 106 in effect becomes broadcasting equipment operatingin much the same manner as Transcription Engine 100, but with the propersupport from the Transcription Engine 100 whereby it relies on theTranscription Engine 100 to download the necessary software when needed.In particular, laptop 106 broadcasts the associated text informationover the Internet to all registered students; this includes studentsoperating laptops 108, 110 and 112 in the classroom and studentsoperating laptop 114, tablet 116 and smart phone 118 who are remotelylocated from classroom 104. As a result, a student present in classroom104 and who is registered for the broadcast will notice very little, ifany, delay between the lecturer's voice and the associated text signalbeing received by his laptop.

To make the operation of the Transcription Engine of the presentinvention feel and appear more like a virtual classroom, studentsremotely receiving the broadcast of the associated text (or studentsreceiving the broadcast but located in the classroom) can have theability to ask questions during the lecture. Certain students may begiven the ability to ask questions during the broadcast based on thelevel of accessibility provided to these students during theregistration process. The Administrator of the Transcription Engine canconfigure or devise various implementations of this feature. Forexample, during the registration process, the Transcription can give thestudent the option to pay an extra fee for this ability. In anotherexample, the Transcription Engine may allow any student (remotelylocated or in the classroom) to ask for permission to ask a question,and based on the circumstances of the broadcast the student may beallowed to ask the question; in this example, no prior agreement on afee for such a student capability need to have been entered upon betweenthe student and the University during registration.

A student having the ability to ask questions during the broadcast willbe instructed how to do so using special keys (e.g., control keys,function keys on the keyboard, or a special sequence of specific keys),which the Transcription engine will recognize as a request to askquestions. In response, the Transcription Engine will confirm with thestudent that, indeed, the student wishes to ask a question as thestudent could have inadvertently type the requisite keys. Anotherimplementation may be where the Transcription Engine provides a specialrequest link (or graphics object) on the screen and instructs thestudent to click on said link or object when the student wishes to ask aquestion. Upon confirmation by the Transcription Engine that a studentdesires to ask a question, the Transcription Engine will prompt thestudent with a small window into which the student can type the questionfollowed by an end of question symbol (defined by the TranscriptionEngine). The Transcription Engine will signal to the lecturer or to amonitoring Administrator in a relatively unobtrusive manner that thereis an outstanding question. The Administrator can first review the typedquestion to check for its relevance and appropriateness. The questioncan be ‘accepted’ by the Administrator or Lecturer and, in such a case,the student asking the question is informed through his/her device.Conversely, a question may be ‘denied’ by the Administrator and/orLecturer and the student will be so informed also; the student may ormay not be told why the question was denied depending on the particularclass and/or subject manner being discussed and the relevancy of thequestion to the subject matter. Once the question is accepted, thebroadcaster, at his/her chosen time, broadcasts the question to everyoneand proceeds to answer the question. Each accepted question may appearas a graphic object on the Lecturer's screen. The Lecturer may simplyclick on the object associated with a question and the text typed by thestudent is broadcast. To avoid a Lecture fragmented by too manyquestions, the Transcript Engine may not allow questions for a definedtime period after a previous question was answered. Further, theTranscription may allocate a certain number of questions (during abroadcast) to each eligible student.

A student in the classroom who wants to ask a question in a normalmanner (not using the Transcription of the present invention) may do soupon being granted permission by the Lecturer. The student's questioncan then be voiced by a voicing agent in the classroom or can berepeated by the Lecturer (in the case where the Lecturer's voice isrecognizable by the Transcription engine) resulting in a broadcast ofthe question in associated text. The Lecturer can then proceed to answerthe question appropriately.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a flowchart of the steps of themethod of the present invention. In step 200, the Transcription Enginedetermines whether it has received a request from a user to login toTranscription Engine 100. Continuing with the example of a Lecturer at aUniversity broadcasting his/her lecture over the Internet to studentswho have registered for the live text broadcast, the Lecturer andstudents are presumed to have access to the Internet and thus to the URL(Uniform Resource Locator) of the Transcription Engine of the presentinvention. Prior to step 200, an Administrator (i.e., Administrativepersonnel) for the University working with the owner/controlling entityof the Transcription Engine will have set up the structures andframework to list courses, their lecturers and students capable ofparticipating in the University's live text broadcast of lectures overthe Internet. The Administrator gains access to the Transcription Enginevia the Internet using equipment 124 (e.g., a desktop, a server, alaptop) as shown FIG. 1. The Administrator is able to login to theTranscription Engine and is able to provide different levels of accessto lecturers and students as warranted. The Administrator is able todesign various screens with graphics, pull down menus, Tool bars andother GUI (Graphic User Interface) techniques that facilitate the designof a framework and structures for the particular user being representedby the Administrator. The Administrator has overall responsibility andauthority to manage broadcasters and end users with various levels ofaccess. An Administrator, for example, has the authority to add, delete,approve and manage end users and broadcasters at various levels.Administrators have authority over who has access to their system and assuch may adjust or amend the list of broadcaster and end users ascircumstances warrant.

Upon visiting the website associated with the Transcription Engine ofthe present invention, the user is presented with the various lists ofthe services provided by the Transcription Engine; this can be done in apull down menu or a link (not shown). In this case the user will haveselected University Lectures as one of the services provided by theowner/controlling entity of the Transcription Engine. Upon makinghis/her selection from a pull down menu that includes Church Services,Professional Organizations and other clients, the user is given theopportunity to register as a new user or login if the user has alreadyregistered. A login screen allows the user to login either as abroadcaster or as a student. As a broadcaster, the user may be alecturer of a University already registered with LectureCaptions or theUser may be a representative of a University intending to become a newclient of LectureCaptions. In this case, the client is a University,which has registered or is about to register with a company calledLectureCaptions. Presumably, LectureCaptions is part of theowner/controlling entity of the Transcription Engine that is able tooffer various live text broadcasts to different types of organizationssuch as Universities, Churches and Professional Organizations.

In step 202 of the method of the present invention, the TranscriptionEngine determines whether the user is already registered. TheTranscription confirms user registration by confirming the user's loginand password information and other information available to theTranscription Engine. For example, in response to the entry ofinformation inputted by user in the request, the Transcription Enginemay ask the user several questions in an attempt to verify that theuser, has indeed, already registered with the Transcription Engine. Ifthe user has already registered, the method of the present inventionmoves to step 204 where the Transcription Engine endeavors toauthenticate the user. If the user is authenticated, the method of thepresent invention moves to step 208. If, however, the user cannot beauthenticated for whatever reason, the Transcription Engine does notgive the user access to its services, but allows the user to re-registerat steps 200, 202 and 206 and then to login again. Authentication of theuser relates to unique information about the user inputted by the userduring initial registration. The user is also given the opportunity toamend such unique information at any point during his/her membership tothe Transcription Engine.

In step 206, the Transcription Engine generates queries and obtainsinformation to uniquely identify the user and thus generate user profileinformation. The user profile information is stored in database server122 (see FIG. 1). The Transcription Engine 100, and in particular,Authentication server 120 (see FIG. 1) uses part of the user profileinformation to authenticate the user in future login attempts by theuser. Also, in step 206, the user enters into an agreement withLectureCaptions to determine the user's level of membership, paymentmechanism, and billing arrangement. Such standard user information asemail address, street address, membership type (lecturer or student)form part of the information used to generate user profile information.Also, it is during the registration process that the user selects apassword and other unique information that allows the Authenticatingserver 120 of the Transcription Engine 100 to authenticate the userafter proper login. Authenticating Server 120 uses at least part of theuser profile information stored in database server 122 to authenticate auser. After the user has been properly registered, the user is given anopportunity to login; for a lecturer, the user is prompted with thescreenshot shown in FIG. 3. For a student, the user is prompted with thescreenshot shown in FIG. 4. For a University, the user is prompted withthe screenshot shown in FIG. 5. These screenshots represent one exampleof a particular GUI approach that allows end users to gain access to theTranscription Engine of the present invention. Upon gaining access tothe website of the Transcription Engine, an end user is allowed to login the manner shown by FIGS. 3-5. It will be readily understood that theappearance and design of the screenshots shown in FIGS. 3-5 areexemplary and that other screenshots of different configuration cancertainly be contemplated. A University, or its representative, whenregistering for the first time may be considered a broadcaster. Also, alecturer of the University registering its class for broadcasting isalso considered a broadcaster. For a lecturer registering for the firsttime or amending registration information, step 206 is followed by step208. Also, a student registering for the first time would be allowed toeither move to step 208 or requested to re-login using the informationhe/she has just inputted into the Transcription Engine.

In step 208, the method of the present invention determines whether theuser is a broadcaster (University and/or lecturer of a University) or anend user (i.e., a student at the University). If it is determined thatthe user is a broadcaster, the method of the present invention moves tostep 212 and establishes a communication channel between the broadcasterequipment and the Transcription Engine. The Transcription Engine at thispoint already has available the profile information of the broadcasterfrom the registration step described above. The Transcription Engine isto establish and confirm communications between it and the broadcasterequipment in accordance with Internet protocols that dictate thetransmission of text streamed over the Internet. The TranscriptionEngine affords the broadcaster all of the privileges and capabilitiesagreed upon between the broadcaster and the owner/controlling entity ofthe Transcription Engine during registration. If at step 208, theTranscription Engine had determined that the user is an end user (e.g.,a student), the method of the present invention moves to step 210 wherethe Transcription Engine similarly establishes a communications channelfor the end user so that the end user, if logged in during thebroadcast, is able to receive the associated text from the broadcast.The method of the present invention then moves to step 214 whereTranscription Engine receives streaming voice, from a broadcaster andconverts said voice to associated text and broadcasts the associatedtext to all registered and authenticated end users and clients who arelogged in during the broadcast. The broadcast of the associated text maybe done in accordance with instructions provided during the broadcast bythe Administrator associated with the client. Such instructions compriseallowing certain end uses to ask questions via text during thebroadcast. Other instructions may relate to removing end users who areimproperly interrupting the Lecturer during the broadcast. Yet othersets of instructions may relate to advising the lecturer (or voiceagent) to adjust his/her microphone to improve the quality of the voicesignals being received by the Transcription Engine. These instructionscan be sent by the Administrative equipment (presumably under thecontrol of an administrative personnel) as a text in much the samemanner certain end users can send text to the Lecturer during thebroadcast to ask questions. The Transcription engine records the livetext broadcast and stores it either in the data base server 122 or otheraccessible memory space under the control of and accessible to theTranscription Engine. The Transcription Engine, while under theoperation of an Administrator, can then review, amend and otherwise makeclarifying adjustments to the recorded broadcast for re-broadcast at alater time.

While various aspects of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any ofthe above described exemplary aspects, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures in theattachments, which highlight the structure, methodology, functionalityand advantages of the present invention, are presented for examplepurposes only. The present invention is sufficiently flexible andconfigurable, such that it may be implemented in ways other than thatshown in the accompanying figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A Transcription Engine comprising: at least one server capable of registering and authenticating automatically clients and their end users requesting access to said server via a communication network, and the server is able to receive voice communications from a registered and authenticated client, designated as a broadcaster, via the communication network in accordance with one or more protocols of said communication network, transcribe in real time said received voice communications into associated text and broadcast the associated text to the client and to registered and authenticated end users of the client.
 2. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 where the at least one server is capable of providing Transcription Engine services simultaneously to one or more clients where each client comprises at least one broadcaster able to provide the associated text broadcasts to at least one end user.
 3. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 where the at least one server uses voice recognition software to transcribe the voice communications into associated text.
 4. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 whereby the at least one server is capable of receiving instructions from an administrative equipment associated with a client where such instructions dictate capabilities and levels of access to be afforded to end users or clients.
 5. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 whereby the at least one server is capable of receiving instructions from an administrative equipment associated with a client during a broadcast to adjust quality of the voice communications being received by the Transcription Engine from the broadcaster.
 6. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 where the at least one server comprises an authentication server coupled to a database server and a transcription server where said database server contains profile information of the client and end users of the client, said authentication server uses at least some of the profile information to authenticate an end user or a client and said transcription server performs the transcribing of voice communications into associated text and the broadcasting of the associated text to the client and end users in accordance with instructions received from an administrative server.
 7. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 whereby during the broadcast certain end users are allowed to transmit a certain number of text messages to the broadcaster broadcast at a later time during the broadcast.
 8. The Transcription Engine of claim 7 where the broadcaster and/or an administrator monitoring the broadcast is capable of reviewing the text message received from an end user and determine whether to broadcast the received text.
 9. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 where an entire associated text of the broadcast is recorded and said associated text is edited for accuracy and for a re-broadcast.
 10. The Transcription Engine of claim 1 where the communication network is the Internet and the one or more protocols is the Internet Protocol (IP).
 11. The Transcription Engine of claim 10 where the at least one server also operates as a web server with a particular URL (Uniform Resource Locator) at which a client or an end user may register and then login and after having been authenticated by the at least one server and the client is able to broadcast associated text and the end user is able to view a live or recorded broadcast of such associated text.
 12. The Transcription Engine of claim 10 where a user is authenticated based on at least some of the user profile information entered by the user during registration.
 13. The Transcription Engine of claim 10 whereby after an end user has been authenticated, the at least one server establishes a communication channel to the end user to allow said end user to view a scheduled broadcast.
 14. A method of broadcasting information by a Transcription Engine comprising: registering and authenticating automatically a client or an end user desiring services provided by the Transcription Engine; and transcribing, in real time, received voice communications from the client into associated text and broadcasting the associated text over a communication network to the authenticated and registered end user and/or to the client.
 15. The method of claim 14 where the step of registering comprises providing structures and a framework by The Transcription Engine to allow the client and the end user to enter information into the Transcription engine during registration.
 16. The method of claim 14 where the communication network is the Internet.
 17. The method of claim 16 where the client is a University and the end user is a student at the University desiring to view a live text broadcast or a recorded text broadcast of a lecturer of the University.
 18. The method of claim 17 where the University or the student is able to visit a website associated with the Transcription Engine to register and/or to login to the website whereby said University is then able to broadcast live associated text and whereby the student is able to view the live text broadcast or view recorded text broadcast of the University.
 19. The method of claim 16 where the client is a church and the end user is a member of the church desiring to view a live text broadcast of church services or a recorded text broadcast of church services.
 20. The method of claim 16 where the client is a professional organization and the end user is a member of the professional organization desiring to view a live text broadcast or a recorded text broadcast of meetings or other events of the professional organization. 